Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 101758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101758 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
“I get it. Priorities shift, and that’s okay, X. Brit and I want to have babies. And we could start now, but fuck, I’m hardly home, and I don’t want her to do it alone. We figure we’ll reevaluate when I’m thirty-five. Gives us a few years to decide.”
I nod slowly, watching as the moose walk into the trees.
“You have fucking moose in your yard, man.”
“Sometimes, yeah.” I chuckle. “I invited Ivy to come over early and have breakfast.”
“What’s up with that?”
“Nothing.” My response is too fast, and it has my best friend simply staring at me. “Yet.”
He nods. “She’s sweet. Crazy family.”
“Come on, we all have crazy families.”
Cooper nods again. “True. Did I tell you that Brit’s mom tried to sue us?”
I bark out a laugh, and some birds squawk and fly away.
“What the fuck? Why?”
“Pain and suffering.” He’s laughing, his hand over his face. “For lack of support.”
“Wait. You’re telling me that Brit’s crazy-as-fuck mom sued you because you refuse to give her money?”
“Pretty much. She lost, of course, and ended up owing her attorney about twenty grand.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“So Ivy has a shit mom. So what? I deal with Brit’s. It’s annoying, but I love my wife more than I hate her mother. That’s just how it is.”
“No one said anything about love.”
He’s quiet for a minute. “You deserve it, you know.”
“Cut the shit.”
“I’m being serious. I know, we joke around a lot, and we don’t talk about our feelings—”
“Prefer it that way, thanks.”
“—but I’m telling you, as someone who knows you pretty fucking well, you deserve happiness. If that’s Ivy, I say go for it. It might not work out long term.”
“It never does.”
“But maybe keep the option open. You never know.”
“She—I like her. But she works for me.”
He nods slowly and then shakes his head. “No, that’s bullshit. She works for the team. She works with you. That’s different. You wrapped her up in your sweatshirt in the bar last night like you were staking a claim.”
“She was cold.”
“We all saw how cold she was, man.”
I glare at him. “The fuck did you just say?”
“See? Territorial. I think it’s great. Britney has already claimed her, and you know how tenacious my wife is.”
“I can’t be with a woman simply because Brit likes her.”
He grins that grin that he gets on his stupid face when he’s thinking about his wife. Probably naked. “She’s pretty irresistible.”
“Brit or Ivy?”
“Yes.”
I snort and stand, grabbing my empty mug. “Come on, I’ve had enough sharing my feelings for one day. I need a shower.”
“You’re just going to get sweaty.”
“Fuck off, I need a shower.”
CHAPTER TEN
IVY
Ipark in front of Xander’s house and gather my things to head inside. I’m here early, like he suggested, but only by about thirty minutes. I didn’t know for sure when I should get here, so I guessed, after overthinking it for about three hours.
I don’t even make it to the door before it opens, and the man himself stands there, a smile quirking his perfect lips, as I climb the steps to the porch.
“Good morning,” he says, taking my bag from me the way he does every day when I arrive. “You’re late.”
“No, I’m early.”
“I told you to come for breakfast.” He passes me the water tumbler that he’s deemed as mine, and it rattles with fresh ice, making my heart soften.
“It doesn’t take me longer than thirty minutes to eat,” I tell him, and he leans in to me, so close that I can smell him, and it sends electricity down my spine.
“I wanted you here earlier.”
“You weren’t specific.”
“I won’t make that mistake again.”
He winks at me and then leads me to the kitchen, where Cooper and Britney are enjoying their own meals.
“Good morning, honey,” Britney says with a smile. “I love those scrubs.”
They’re just plain green scrubs, but this woman is the queen of compliments.
“Thanks.” I slide onto a stool, and Xander takes my plate out of the oven and sets it in front of me. “You kept it warm?”
“Of course. Who wants a cold burrito?” Xander smirks and takes his own plate out of the oven too.
He waited for me.
Holy shit, this man. But he’s just a nice guy. He would do that for anyone.
Right?
“This is different from the other day,” I say after I take a bite.
“Harper’s been slacking,” Xander says, and then smirks. “Yeah, she has a new baby. Whatever, she has time to feed me.”
I bark out a laugh, and he winks at me.
“Cassie made these.”
“They’re really good, just a little different.”
“No sisterly love added in,” Britney says with a wink. “Ivy, do you mind if Mark and I work out with y’all? The gym is so big, you won’t even know we’re there.”
“I don’t mind if Xander doesn’t.”
Xander shakes his head. “Don’t mind.”
He shoves the last bite in his mouth, and once I’m finished, he clears our plates away and we move down the hall to the gym.